What Must Be Fixed
by melodic.keys
Summary: Team Seven is broken. Can it ever be fixed? AU.
1. Chapter 1

Team Seven is broken. Can it ever be fixed? AU.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Anything directly related to the Naruto manga/anime (all characters, backstories, settings, etc.) belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **What Must Be Fixed**

 **Chapter One**

Sakura was laughing hysterically at the raven haired teen in front of her. She vainly tried to stop the giggles that were bubbling up in her throat, but as she continued to look at Sasuke's annoyed face, they came back again with full force.

"Has Ugly gone crazy?" Sai asked blandly.

No one rewarded the socially inept boy with a response.

Sasuke gritted his teeth at the pink haired girl in front of him.

Naruto glanced between his two teammates with a sad frown.

This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out.

"Is this a joke?" Sakura asked as she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. Another giggle threatened to escape, but she managed to hold it back. She looked at Naruto expectantly.

"Well?" she asked with a quirked brow. "Is it?"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. His eyes avoided her inquiring gaze.

"Please tell me that he isn't serious," Sakura said, purposely refusing to directly address the Uchiha in question.

"It's true," Naruto eventually supplied. He scratched the back of his head full of spiky, blond hair awkwardly. "Sasuke came back to the village."

Sakura stared at Naruto for a few seconds in disbelief before switching her gaze over to Sasuke.

She glared.

"Well that's _fucking_ great, isn't it?" Sakura said with malice seeping into her voice.

Sasuke blinked at Sakura in shock, taken aback at her sudden hostility towards him.

Sakura's glare intensified. "So you finally decided to come crawling back here, huh?" She scoffed.

Onyx eyes narrowed in response. "What the hell is your problem?"

Sakura threw her head back and laughed dramatically as if what Sasuke had said was the funniest thing in the world. "What's my problem?" she asked as she gasped for air.

Naruto could feel the increasing tension between his two teammates and tried to step in. "Hey, let's just try to calm down and—"

"My problem," Sakura interrupted with a deceptively sweet tone, "is that a traitor who should be locked behind bars is—for _some_ reason— standing right in front of me."

"After all," Sakura continued as she casually examined her fingernails on her right hand. Her left hand remained by her side. "You did betray Konoha to go off to Orochimaru—leaving me knocked out on a bench and almost killing Naruto when he tried to stop you."

She tapped her finger to her lips in thought. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "How could I forget? You also tried to chidori me through the back."

"You think that you're some kind of damned saint?" Sasuke asked with a steely tone. "The last time I checked, it was _you_ who made it your personal mission—a failed mission at that—to kill me."

"Oh, right," Sakura said, nodding with fake understanding." That should also explain why you left Karin—your new teammate— to bleed out on the ground." She sighed in exasperation. "I'm noticing a pattern here."

Sasuke scowled. "Well if your feelings hadn't gotten in the way, maybe I would be dead."

Sakura smiled thinly. "Maybe."

She continued. "It's a pity. Really, it is. You did all of that work—all of that _betraying_ —for one thing: revenge." She glanced at Sasuke's face and saw that his jaw was clenched. He had also activated his sharingan in the midst of his anger.

Good.

"But tell me one thing, _Sasuke-kun_." There was no endearment in her voice.

"Was it sweet?"

Sasuke stiffened.

She observed his reaction with interest.

"Wait, that can't be," she said, feigning shock. "Or can it?"

"Sakura," Sasuke growled in warning.

There was a pause.

Sakura smirked darkly. "Is Itachi still breathing?"

What happened next was so fast that it would have been missed by the untrained eye.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled in alarm. "Don't!" But he was too late.

As soon as Sasuke had heard Itachi's name leave Sakura's lips, he had disappeared from his spot. In a blur, Sasuke raced towards Sakura, blind with rage, and unshielded his kusanagi.

But Sakura had expected this reaction.

Her left hand that she had rested by her side was coated in green chakra, ready to counter his attack.

' _Clang'_

' _Thud'_

"Now, now," a voice lightly interrupted. "Is this how comrades are supposed to behave?"

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said in relief.

The silver haired jounin of Konoha was standing in between his former students. His left arm was stretched out in front of him as he blocked Sasuke's blade with a kunai in hand, preventing it from impaling Sakura in the abdomen. His right arm was bent slightly behind him and his hand held Sakura's wrist, preventing her from delivering a hit that would have shattered Sasuke's jaw.

A breeze rustled through the clearing.

"Temper," Sakura tsked.

Sasuke snarled. "Shut up!"

"What did I just say?" Kakashi reprimanded harshly. His voice was laced with disappointment.

' _They were trying to kill each other,'_ Kakashi thought in dismay.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said as he focused his attention on the Uchiha in front of him.

"Your sword. Drop it."

Sasuke ignored him. Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

" _Now,"_ he commanded.

Sasuke's eyes shifted away from Sakura's reluctantly, ending their glaring match. He met the uncovered eye of the masked man with his own. They stared at each other for several seconds, gazes locked in a silent challenge.

Sasuke eventually complied.

As Sasuke sheathed his sword, Sakura tried to break Kakashi's hold on her wrist, capturing Kakashi's attention. He relented, but not before turning towards her with disapproving eyes.

"Sakura," he began. "This is unlike you." He crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze with hers. "Those were not friendly insults that you were trading with Sasuke. You deliberately tried to antagonize him. You went too far." His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Sakura turned her head away from him and clenched her fists. Her shoulder-length hair shielded her face from their view.

"What did you expect?" she muttered.

"What was that?"

"I said," Sakura enunciated as she whipped around, "what did you expect?!"

"Sakura," Kakashi warned dangerously.

"Did you expect for me to welcome him back to the village" she shouted, "after all that he has done?!"

Sakura lowered her voice and dropped her chin.

"I hate him," she whispered.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Naruto stared at his childhood crush at a loss for words.

Everyone was in shock over Sakura's admission.

Sakura began to turn away, but before she did, she addressed Sasuke one last time.

"Welcome home," she said bitterly.

And with that said, she sped away from the training grounds, all while ignoring Naruto's concerned calls of 'Sakura-chan.'

Sakura rubbed at her teary eyes in frustration.

She wouldn't let them see her cry.

She wouldn't let _him_ see her cry.

Not anymore.

Not again.


	2. Chapter 2

Team Seven is broken. Can it ever be fixed? AU.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Anything directly related to the Naruto manga/anime (all characters, backstories, settings, etc.) belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **What Must Be Fixed**

 **Chapter Two**

Four months had passed since Sasuke came back to the village—four months since Sakura had uttered the three harsh words that had shocked everyone who had been present.

For three blissful months after her first encounter with Sasuke, Sakura did not run into the Uchiha at all. Apparently, his freedom to roam around the village was nonexistent after that day. After their confrontation (that had almost escalated into a full blown fight), he was promptly thrown into a cell until Tsunade-shishou could figure out what the hell to do with him.

Sakura was grateful.

She used those three months to try to come to terms with the fact that Sasuke would now be within Konoha—her safe place. A place where—after Sakura had healed from the pain of having _both_ Naruto and Sasuke leave her behind (even though they were supposed to be a team)—Sakura had grown into herself. Konoha was where Sakura went through her grueling training with Tsunade-shishou and Shizune and finally became the renowned medic nin that she was today. Konoha was—with the academy, the civilians, her comrades, and her parents—where Sakura had finally found the reason why she was proud to call herself a shinobi, despite the difficulties that had popped up along the way.

With Sasuke back in the village, all of the old insecurities that Sakura had shed suddenly resurfaced.

If anything was for certain, it was that Sakura refused to go back to the bumbling, love-obsessed girl that she had been as a genin.

So during those three months, Sakura did what she did best to keep her mind off of a certain Uchiha, who apparently, if the rumors were anything to go by, was now in the process of being accepted back into the village. She kept busy at the hospital and often overloaded herself with paper work, despite Tsunade's disapproval. When that wasn't enough, she went on missions.

In Sakura's opinion, Sasuke's punishment for his crimes against his comrades—against those people who had actually _cared_ enough to risk their lives for him—was laughable.

Curious despite herself, Sakura had asked Tsunade-shishou about the details regarding Sasuke's punishment. According to her teacher, Sasuke was given three months of house arrest (which had explained his much needed absence) and two months of community service, in which he had to do a shit load of mundane D-ranked missions. Then, there would be a seven month period in which he would have to meet a certain quota of successfully completed team missions (to show that he could play well with others).

Only then could Sasuke get promoted to chunin, jonin, and eventually (if he wanted to) Anbu.

In total? It was a punishment that spanned a measly year.

Sakura was beginning to think that her Shishou was going soft.

During Sasuke's house arrest, Naruto had approached her on three separate occasions, subtly (well as subtle as Naruto could ever be) asking her if she was going to visit.

* * *

" _Sakura-chan?"_

" _Yes Naruto?"_

" _You're not still worked up about that argument that you and Sasuke had, right?"_

" _What? No. Honestly, it's not even on my mind anymore."_

" _Oh, that's great! Then maybe when you have the chance, you can—"_

" _Sorry Naruto. Not right now, alright? I'm really bogged down with work."_

"… _oh. Well I guess I'll come back another time then!"_

* * *

" _Sakura-chan. You haven't visited the teme yet, have you?"_

" _No."_

" _Well do you think that you can?"_

" _Why?_

"… _he's our teammate Sakura-chan."_

" _I can't. I have to leave on a mission soon."_

" _When?"_

" _Now."_

* * *

"… _he seems a lot more withdrawn than usual. I don't think that he's sleeping well either."_

" _He can get sleeping pills from the hospital."_

"… _I know, but I was thinking that maybe he would get better if he had more visitors."_

" _Who visits him now?"_

" _Me and Kakashi."_

" _I see."_

" _So…I was thinking that—"_

"… _Naruto?"_

" _Yes?"_

" _I have no intention of visiting him."_

" _But….Sakura…you didn't really mean it when you said that you hated Sasuke, right?"_

"…"

" _Right?"_

" _Damn it, Naruto! Just leave it be, okay?!"_

* * *

Naruto didn't get it.

He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Sakura's feelings for Sasuke could change so drastically. It was unfathomable to the blond-haired teen whose shinobi occupation never managed to cloud the child-like optimism that he viewed the world in; he always tried to find the good in people. His cerulean blue eyes had never stopped seeing Sasuke as a friend who was in need.

This boy could not grasp how love could turn into hatred. He could not grasp how Sakura could give up on Sasuke—withdraw her hand from him—during a time that Sasuke could very well need it the most.

Naruto was no fool. He knew that Sasuke had made so many mistakes. He had tried to kill him. He had tried to kill Sakura.

But if there was anything that Naruto had discovered about himself, it was that he had the power to change people's hearts.

Yes, he got angry at Sasuke, but Naruto was quick to smother the flames before they spread and threatened to consume him. Hatred would only lead to more destruction.

None of them needed any more of that in their lives.

When Sasuke had finally faced off against Itachi—the man that had prompted the younger Uchiha to sever his bonds—he failed.

Itachi toyed with him.

Sasuke still wasn't strong enough.

And now he was back in the village that he had once scorned and was being treated like a criminal.

The girl that had once declared her love for him couldn't stand to be around him.

It was needless to say that Naruto was worried about his friend's mental state.

He didn't know what he would do if he walked into Sasuke's apartment and saw his friend holding a kunai to his own throat again. Like last time.

He had been able to stop him, but what if one day Naruto's words failed to reach him?

Naruto didn't know if he could handle it.

But as Sakura became more closed off to him and Sasuke crept deeper into depression, Naruto just prayed to Kami that his two friends would be healed.


	3. Chapter 3

Team Seven is broken. Can it ever be fixed? AU.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Anything directly related to the Naruto manga/anime (all characters, backstories, settings, etc.) belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **What Must Be Fixed**

 **Chapter Three**

Sasuke was tired.

He was tired of staring at the bland walls inside of the small apartment that was given to him courtesy of the Hokage.

After all, it was meant to serve as his jail cell for the first part of his sentence, although it was arguably more comfortable than the real jail cell that he was thrown into after he first came back to the village.

He couldn't go on missions. He couldn't train. He couldn't do anything to take his mind off of the thoughts that plagued his mind throughout the day.

It was worse at night.

Sasuke despised having too much time on his hands for that very reason.

The nightmares just wouldn't stop.

Sometimes, he would dream about what Itachi had shown him with his Mangekyou Sharingan—the slaughter of his clan. Over and over again.

Much to his distress, there was often other disturbing little twists in his dreams. He would see his dead mother and father with blood gushing from their wounds, asking him why he failed to save them. Didn't he love them?

Then, the scenery would switch to where Sasuke had tried—and failed—to kill his murderer of a brother.

 _Itachi, with a sword in his hand, stood over Sasuke, who was wheezing on the ground and coughing up blood._

 _Itachi, smiling wickedly and telling him that everything was his fault. He was still too weak._

 _Itachi, bringing forth anyone that Sasuke had ever remotely cared about—lining them up in front of him._

 _They begged to be spared and looked to Sasuke with pleading eyes._

 _But Sasuke was now in Itachi's place._

 _Having no control over his body, Sasuke killed them all without mercy._

 _He gazed into two pairs of eyes—one green and one blue— as they stared at him in horror._

 _Their once sparkling orbs dulled into lifelessness after the sword was plunged into their hearts._

Sasuke preferred not to sleep.

He didn't receive many visitors. Kakashi came a lot in the beginning, but he was still the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha, and his strength was needed for missions.

The dobe visited almost too frequently. Sasuke had once asked him why the hell he was wasting his potential as a ninja by spending so much time within the village.

Naruto just laughed and told him that he was needed here at the moment. He said that he could use a bit of a break anyway.

Naruto was often too loud and annoying. He was also a bad liar. However, Sasuke was grateful for his presence.

Although Sasuke pretended otherwise, he was still hurt and angry over Sakura's words.

She had dared to comment on the possibility that Sasuke had failed to kill Itachi. She could never begin to understand what he was going through at the moment.

But deep down, Sasuke knew that he deserved it.

Seeing Sakura—the one person who Sasuke had always thought would stand by his side—finally give up on him, quite frankly, made him feel like shit.

The look of disgust in her eyes, although not to the extent of what Sasuke had felt for Itachi, was something that Sasuke could recognize very well.

It made him feel like he had failed.

Immensely.

* * *

Sakura was currently making rounds at the hospital. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun; strands of pink hair that had escaped from their constraints were left to dangle carelessly by her ears. She wore a standard white coat and held a brown clipboard in her hand. She was flipping through some papers that contained information about her next patient. The clicking of her black sandals echoed through the white hospital walls.

When Sakura finally arrived to her destination, she gave three short knocks as a courtesy. Once she heard a muffled reply, Sakura pulled open the door and stepped inside with a frown. She peered at the dark-haired man who was sitting on the hospital bed with his shirt off. White bandages were wrapped around his pale torso and traveled up to his right shoulder. She could see that the bandages were put on haphazardly. The diagonal line of blood that was beginning to show let Sakura know that he must have been caught by an enemy's sword. Her hands made their way to her hips as she looked at him with disapproval.

"Sai, this is the third time this month that you've been in the hospital. What the hell have you been doing out there?"

The corners of the former root member's mouth quirked in response. "You know that's classified, Ugly," he evaded.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the unwelcomed nickname that Sai clearly had no intentions of letting go. She set her clipboard down on a nearby desk and approached the bed.

"Would it kill you to be more cautious?" Sakura said, sighing in exasperation. Sakura slowly peeled off the bandages that were beginning to stick to his skin due to the blood. Sai didn't even wince.

Once those were tossed in the nearby trash bin, Sakura hovered both of her hands over Sai's chest. Green chakra glowed as she examined the injury; a slight crease made its way in between Sakura's brows.

"The injury wasn't that bad," he reassured. Sai could tell that Sakura was concerned about him, even though he thought that her concern wasn't warranted since his injury was pretty minor.

"Yeah, well you're lucky that it wasn't," Sakura retorted. Done with her quick assessment (the wound wasn't that deep and thankfully did not cause any major damage), Sakura switched her efforts to the healing process.

Sai began to feel a familiar tingling sensation as Sakura's chakra began to heal his wound. He could feel the muscles and skin on his torso and shoulder stitch back together. It wasn't painful. Despite some minor discomfort, the process was actually quite soothing.

When she was done (she had only been in the room for a couple of minutes), Sakura wiped the blood away, which revealed skin that was scar-free. She moved away from Sai in order to retrieve her clipboard that she had set down earlier. In the middle of jotting down a few notes, she glanced up at him with a small smile.

"You're all good to go, however—" Her gaze became stern. "—I want you to rest for the next few days."

Before Sai could protest, Sakura interrupted him with a scowl.

"Don't argue. I'm the medic."

With that said, Sakura began walking towards door, fully intending on leaving the room. However, as her hand reached out to touch the handle, she was stopped by Sai's voice.

"I don't think that you're wrong for being angry."

Immediately, Sakura knew what Sai was referring to. She peered over her left shoulder quizzically.

"Really?" She gave him a skeptical look. "What brought this on?"

Sakura saw him nod his head once in confirmation. "Yes. He betrayed your trust. It's understandable." He paused, contemplating his next words. "But…"

Hearing his hesitation, Sakura turned her body fully towards him and crossed her arms over her chest. She raised a brow. "What is it?"

Words found, a serious look made its way to Sai's face. "Although it is clear that you want to hurt him with your anger and indifference, it also seems as if you are hurting yourself in the process."

Sakura blinked a few times taken aback, but quickly snapped out of it. She snorted and shook her head slowly. "I'm fine, Sai. Really, I am." She cocked her head to the side. "And since when did you become an expert on other people's emotions?" she asked sarcastically.

He gave a familiar, bland smile that Sakura couldn't stand. "When I discovered that certain people around me refuse to acknowledge how they truly feel."

Sakura gave a tight smile in response. "Well don't assume that you have everything figured out," she warned as she began walking back towards the door. She was done with this conversation. "You still have a lot to learn."


	4. Chapter 4

Team Seven is broken. Can it ever be fixed? AU.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Anything directly related to the Naruto manga/anime (all characters, backstories, settings, etc.) belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **What Must Be Fixed**

 **Chapter Four**

Soon enough, Sasuke's three months of house arrest ended. He was extremely relieved—if he had been a different person, he would have been jumping with joy. But since he was, in fact, not a different person (and was, in fact, Sasuke Uchiha), it is needless to say that he did not plan for any celebrating to take place on his watch. But this did not stop a certain Uzumaki from dragging him to Ichiraku ramen the first chance that he got.

Sasuke had to admit that it wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience.

While he was unceremoniously dragged to the destination, Naruto had been busy with his usual incessant chatter, so Sasuke did what he did best. He tuned Naruto out to the best of his abilities and observed his surroundings.

The village had changed a lot since he had left.

This was understandable. Pein _did_ level Konoha after all. There was a lot of destruction after the invasion and many renovations had to be made.

The thought of how the village would have fared if Sasuke had also been around to defend it briefly crossed his mind, but he brushed it off.

He didn't need another thing to dwell on.

Upon his meeting with Tsunade—the _Hokage_ he thought wryly, as he remembered her alarming temper and bad drinking habits—she had told him rather bluntly that many of the buildings on the Uchiha grounds had been destroyed. She wanted his permission to use some of the grounds (because what use would Sasuke have for it anyway?) for some much needed housing projects. The remaining lands would be retained and maintained by the village until he decided to claim them. After debating with himself for a few moments, Sasuke agreed.

At first, Sasuke had been shocked and a bit angry. The Uchiha grounds—land that belonged to a founding clan of Konoha—had been wrecked and the Hokage dared to suggest that he turn them over to the village? But then, after more careful thought, Sasuke realized that it might not be such a bad idea. Let someone else take care of it. The fact that the grounds would not be his responsibility until _he_ was ready to make it his responsibility took some weight off of his shoulders. No longer would he have to wander those streets and feel guilty as he passed by buildings that were clearly suffering from a lack of regular maintenance.

His father had been a proud man, and would have scowled at the thought of the Uchiha's losing their property, but Sasuke knew that he had also disliked it when things were left to waste.

Konoha would have utilized the land better than Sasuke had since the massacre. That was a fact.

Of course, there was the issue of what would happen if and when Sasuke ever decided to rebuild his clan.

But he could worry about that at a later time.

Besides, Sasuke would be fooling himself if he said that he was ready to make such a huge commitment.

He may have claimed that rebuilding his clan was one his goals back when he had 'properly' introduced himself to team seven (and it still was), but Sasuke knew now that his twelve year old self had been quite full of it.

As an eighteen year old, he barely had his life together. How the hell was he supposed to take care of a wife and kids?

On another note, Sasuke's first voyage into the village definitely helped him clear his mind.

But the feelings of relief and celebration were soon over, because right after his three months of house arrest ended, his two months of D-rank Hell began.

Tsunade seemed to find enjoyment in giving Sasuke the most mundane and degrading missions possible.

Sasuke was arguably one of the strongest ninja in the shinobi world.

But that didn't mean that his people skills were all that great.

And he definitely wasn't good with small children (seriously, what type of parents would actually allow _him t_ o babysit?)

He didn't know what the hell he was doing most of the time, but he trudged through it.

If he let any sign of disapproval cross his face, no matter how small, Tsunade would cackle at him evilly.

' _What's wrong brat? Since you're still a genin, these missions are actually quite befitting of your status as a shinobi.'_

No, Tsunade did not like him one bit.

It wasn't all that bad. The dobe had been angry that Sasuke had not informed him of his 'first' D-rank to deliver a message to all of the major clans in Konoha (in which Sasuke encountered many people who were quite bitter over his return). Sasuke didn't know why Naruto cared about such insignificant details, but Naruto promised that he would help him out with his missions in the future.

Although Sasuke would never admit it to Naruto, he was happy that he wouldn't have to suffer on his own.

* * *

Sakura deduced that Sasuke's house arrest must have ended, because she began seeing glimpses of him around the village. He was usually accompanied by Naruto (wherever the dark and brooding Uchiha was seen, a flash of orange and yellow was not too far behind).

This meant that Sakura's three months of peace (if you did not count the stress from her job at the hospital, going on missions, and being Tsunade's lackey) were over.

She was annoyed. Sasuke's freedom equaled her inevitable discomfort.

She was still able to avoid running into the Uchiha, but it took a lot more effort on her part. Naruto did not take heed of her warning to 'leave it be' and was still quite adamant in trying to get the two of them to at least be civil to one another.

Unfortunately, this meant that in order to avoid Sasuke, Sakura also had to start avoiding Naruto.

And she was pretty successful for the most part, except for one little encounter.

One early afternoon, Sakura had been walking through the streets of Konoha towards her apartment while holding bags of groceries in both of her hands. Her damp pink locks curled slightly at the ends and brushed her shoulders. She wore baggy, black sweatpants and a slightly wrinkled, gray T-shirt that showed a bit of her stomach.

Sakura hadn't had the time to go shopping due to her busy schedule and had eaten most of her meals that week at the hospital, but that day, she made it her goal to get her butt to the grocery store. So that afternoon, after waking up from her slumber on her lumpy couch (she had crashed there at some ungodly hour in the morning after performing an extensive surgery), she took a quick shower. She ran the towel through her hair a few times so that it wasn't dripping wet, quickly combed her strands with her fingers so that it wouldn't look like a tangled mess, and threw on some clothes that were not a part of the growing heap in the corner of her bedroom that desperately needed to be cleaned.

A breeze blew through Konoha and ruffled Sakura's hair so that a few pieces of hair escaped from behind her ears. Sakura huffed slightly and shifted the bags to her left hand. She brought her right hand up to tuck the loose strands back in place.

As Sakura absentmindedly strolled past a few civilian houses (she was mentally organizing her schedule for later that day), she almost missed spotting a certain Uchiha who was settled on top of roof a little ways ahead, hammering away.

Sakura fully intended to walk right past him without acknowledging his presence (and was almost successful), but in her tired state, she must have forgotten that a certain loudmouthed blond was without a doubt nearby and would have none of it.

"Sakura-chan!" called an exuberant voice.

The hammering stopped.

Sakura's brow ticked in annoyance.

Fully knowing that she couldn't exactly ignore her teammate without looking like a heartless bitch, she reluctantly turned towards the sound.

Naruto, whose head had been sticking out of a first floor window, bounded out of the small home with an award winning smile plastered on his face (which also contained a hint of nervousness if you looked hard enough), and a bucket of nails in his hand.

She greeted him with a quirk of her lips and a small wave. "Hey, Naruto."

Naruto was wearing a black tank top with black and orange shorts. He was perspiring a bit on his forehead and had a slight tan, so Sakura assumed that he must have been out in the sun for a while.

The man in question strolled towards her with both of his hands placed behind his head of spiky, blond hair.

It was _so_ Naruto.

"I haven't seen you in a while."

Her smile was more genuine this time. "Sorry. I've been busy."

"Man, you're always busy Sakura-chan," he said with a small pout. He chuckled nervously. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you've been avoiding me."

Naruto was never one for beating around the bush.

Her smile became more strained. "That's— "

"Sakura," a deep voice interrupted smoothly.

On the outside, Sakura looked entirely composed—not at all fazed by the interruption. However, on the inside, she was cursing herself for her lack of awareness. How could she forget that _he_ was nearby?

She glanced towards the new presence and met onyx eyes steadily. He was wearing a loose, low cut shirt that showed quite a bit of his chest (seriously, was that really necessary?) and blue shorts. She gave him a slight nod of her head in acknowledgement.

"Sasuke."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto eyeing their interaction with uncertainty.

Sakura shifted her attention back to Naruto.

"I have to go."

Naruto began to protest, but Sakura interrupted him by raising the bags of groceries that she had in her hands.

"I need to get these home."

Thank Kami that she actually had a reasonable excuse.

Naruto visibly deflated at her response.

Before the guilt could completely settle in (damn Naruto and his adorable kicked puppy expression), Sakura took that moment to take her leave. She didn't want to give Naruto a chance to invite her to 'go eat ramen at Ichiraku like the good old days,' or to volunteer himself and Sasuke to help her with her bags.

Or something.

Not that Sasuke would actually _agree_ to help her in the first place.

She did not miss the small frown that appeared on Sasuke's face when she had dismissed him so suddenly.

She may have imagined it, but it almost seemed like...his frown...

...was it regret?

Sakura immediately halted the direction of her thoughts.

Years ago, she would have given anything just so that she could understand Sasuke, just so that she could stand by his side—whether he wanted her there or not.

And 'give anything' she almost did.

She learned her lesson.

So Sakura hardened her heart once more and berated herself for letting one little expression screw with her head.

It wasn't her problem anymore.

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 **Since these chapters tend to be pretty short (compared to my other story), I'll be updating this more frequently.**

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	5. Chapter 5

Team Seven is broken. Can it ever be fixed? AU.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Anything directly related to the Naruto manga/anime (all characters, backstories, settings, etc.) belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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 **What Must Be Fixed**

 **Chapter Five**

It was a beautiful day in Konoha.

Rays of sunlight had broken through the nearly cloudless sky and were shining brilliantly on the village below.

Shinobi could be seen racing across the rooftops.

Civilians could be seen navigating their way through the bustling streets.

The Godaime Hokage stood at a huge glass window as she watched the daily activities of the village play out before her. Her deep, brown eyes looked upon it all with fondness.

However, her facial features became unmistakably tense when her mind called her back to the situation that was currently happening in her office.

Tsunade brought her left hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose and let out a long-suffering sigh.

' _These damned brats…I swear.'_

She was getting too old for this shit.

Sasuke's two months of community service had ended. After experiencing the enjoyment that came out of watching the Uchiha squirm, Tsunade now had to go through the part of his punishment that she had been dreading: the arduous task of introducing him back into the ranks.

Sasuke had really pissed a lot of people off with his defection to Orochimaru.

It was needless to say that not many shinobi were eager to have the Uchiha grace them with his presence on missions.

This meant that Tsunade was forced to assign him to a team that would produce the _least_ amount of problems and could actually handle working with the little avenger without being intimidated.

Or trying to kill him.

This was at least until Sasuke proved himself to be trust worthy. No one wanted to deal with a comrade whose loyalty was in question.

To put it more clearly: she needed shinobi who could be deadly assassins if needed, not ones who would more afraid of their own teammate slitting their throats in their sleep and saving their insides for dessert.

What could she say? Her ninja were usually reasonable, but the rumors that they spread were certainly imaginative.

So who did that leave?

Team Seven.

The thought may have made Tsunade want to bang her head on her desk (repeatedly), but it was an inescapable one.

Quite frankly, Tsunade would be damned if she let the personal feelings of her apprentice get in the way of her shinobi duties. What was Sakura to do if she were to be placed on a team with the Uchiha in the future? Run way?

Not likely. Tsunade wouldn't have it.

The blonde woman had learned far too late in her life that running away from the past would end up causing more grief than necessary.

She held onto the deaths of Nawaki and Dan and it almost ruined her. It caused her to abandon her village and adopt a cynical view towards the dream that her two loved ones had both shared: becoming the Hokage.

Thankfully, Naruto (who reminded her of Nawaki, sometimes more than she liked to admit) was able to knock some sense into her, so to speak.

She didn't want Sakura to suffer from the same fate.

They couldn't always depend on Naruto to be everyone's saving grace.

Besides, the members of Team Seven were all very talented ninja and it would be a shame if their skills were not utilized as a group.

Deciding that she had kept the other occupants of her office waiting long enough, Tsunade turned towards the three teens and met their gazes evenly.

If she had turned a second later, she would have missed the slight inquiring glance that Sasuke had thrown Sakura's way (who tried hard to remain indifferent to his presence) which was no doubt an attempt to see how the pink-haired girl was reacting to this…news.

Sakura was the first to speak.

"Tsunade-shisou, with all due respect—" Sakura paused as she chose her next words carefully. "—the success rate of any missions that we go on might be hindered by our lack of practice as a team."

Tsunade knew that behind the pleasantries—behind that calm facade—Sakura was desperately trying to weasel her way out of this situation.

Her apprentice was good, but not that good.

Tsunde looked at her dispassionately.

"Then train," she stated plainly. "Besides, any mission that I send you on will be simple enough for shinobi of your caliber."

Sakura's lips thinned.

' _Sorry, Sakura,'_ Tsunade thought as she grimaced internally.

Tsunade crossed her arms over rather large chest and addressed them all with an authoritative tone. "You will have three days to become reacquainted with one another's fighting styles—"

Sakura looked at her in shock. "What—"

Tsunade silenced her with a warning look. "Three days. That's how long all of you have to get your shit together Haruno. You all are shinobi, not children, so start acting like it."

Sakura averted her gaze and began glaring off to the side.

Naruto was the next to speak.

Tsunade was deeply surprised that he had managed to stay so quiet this whole time.

Maybe he had finally managed to mature after all.

He gave a bright, reassuring smile that vaguely reminded Tsuande of the sun. "Don't worry, Baa-chan. We'll be ready for whatever mission you throw at us."

Tsunade felt her eye twitch at the endearment, but ignored it in favor of giving the blond a small, satisfied smirk.

"That's what I want to hear."

A soft, almost inaudible grunt could be heard from the corner of the room.

The Hokage switched her attention over to the one person who had yet to say anything about the matter.

"Is this satisfactory, Uchiha?" Tsunade slightly mocked in question.

Sasuke was leaning on the wall off to the right with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He opened his eyes to reveal dark orbs.

"Who will be the team leader for our missions?" Sasuke asked quietly, ignoring her jabs.

Tsunade blinked at him twice before giving a loud bark of laughter.

"Well it sure as hell isn't going to be you."

Tsunade could literally feel Naruto brimming in self-satisfaction and was quick to shut him down.

"Wipe that grin off your damned face because it won't be you either."

Naruto gave Tsunade an offended look and was ready to give a shout of protest, but Tsuande cut him off.

"No."

"What the hell granny?! Sometimes you act like I'm not even a jounin!"

"Maybe so, but if I let a brat like you lead a team anytime soon, there would be anarchy," Tsunade snapped back in irritation.

Naruto's protests reduced to grumbles.

So much for that so called 'maturity.'

Sasuke took this moment to interject once more.

"So that leaves…Sakura?" Sasuke asked somewhat incredulously.

Sakura, insulted by the tone that Sasuke was using, gave him a sharp look with a quirked brow.

"Is that a problem? I've been a jounin for a year now and even though I'm usually relegated to the hospital, I have been on more than enough missions to know how things go." There was a slight bite to her words.

Something flashed in Sasuke's eyes.

"No, there is no problem. That is unless the Hokage is fine with her shinobi working in…rather hostile environments."

Sakura smiled and gave a faint shrug. "Shinobi should learn to adapt."

Tsunade had been observing their far from friendly interaction and decided to interrupt before anymore words could be exchanged.

"It's great to see that you all are getting along so well," Tsunade stated blandly. "Now get out of my office."

She could really use some sake.

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 **Until next time!**


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